Irony in "The Cask of Amontillado"In the short story, "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe, Poe uses two types of irony, dramatic and verbal. Dramatic irony is when the reader perceives something that a character in the story does not. Poe uses this type of irony in the character Fortunato. Verbal irony is when the character says one thing and means something else. This type of irony can be recognized in the statements that the characters, Fortunato and Montresor, say to one another. The name of the character, Fortunato holds dramatic irony within itself. The name Fortunato resembles the word fortunate. In this story, the character Fortunato is anything but fortunate. At the beginning, Fortunato believes that he is fortunate to have a friend, Montresor, who believes to have found a pipe of Amontillado. However, in the end Fortunato learns that he has been tricked and is buried alive. Another ironic feature about the character Fortunato, is the way he is described to be dressed, like a court jester. The time period in which The Cask of Amontillado takes place, court jesters are considered fools. Throughout the story, Fortunato is fooled to believe Montesor's claim of the Amontillado. When Montresor chains Fortunato to the wall the statement that he says, makes Fortunato look like a fool. "' Pass your hand over the wall; you cannot help feeling the nitre. Indeed, it is VERY damp. Once more, let me IMPLORE you to return. No? Then I must positively leave you. But I must first render you all the little attentions in my power,'" (6). Montresor is telling Fortunato about all the chances he has give him

Dotsonto return, but Fortunato would not listen. Therefore, in Montresor's mind, Fortunato brought his death upon himself, which makes him the fool. As Montresor and Fortunate walk through the catacombs, many verbal ironic statements are made. While walking in the catacombs, Fortunato begins to...

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...The Cask of Amontillado
By: Edgar Allan Poe
1)How cohesive and organized is his writing?
Edgar Allan Poe writes with a unique grotesque inventive style. Poe also includes a superb plot construction which hooks the reader at the very start because he sets up a situation which the fills the reader with anticipation to see what develops. In the first line of the story The Cask Of Amontillado(1846), he says, "...but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge." The first three paragraphs develops Montresor's thinking and planning of what he intends to do to Fortunato. He informs the reader of many bits of information which develops Montresor's plan, but in reality, the reader does not know the outcome until nearly the end of the story. His writing paints a very vivid picture for the reader. He organized the story so that we know right in the beginning what the story will be about, and what the reader is in for. In this case, Poe lets the reader know right away and throughout the story, that the probable outcome, will be Montresor getting revenge on Fortunato.
2)How readable and interesting is the style?
Poe's style is interesting, but somewhat difficult to read in the beginning. At the start of the story, Poe develops the plot of the story in a difficult manner. For example, Poe writes, "It is equally unredressed when the avenger...

...A Deeper Insight of "The Cask of Amontillado"
It is Edgar Allan Poe's intense use of symbolism and irony throughout "The Cask of Amontillado" that establishes the short story as a candidate worthy of analysis. The skillful use of these devices are utilized by the author to create this horrific and suspenseful short story. Irony and symbolism in "The Cask of Amontillado" greatly effect the outcome of Fortunato's well being.
"The Cask of Amontillado" should be regarded as a slice of a horror story, which revolves around the theme of revenge and pride" (Levine 90). "Poe's story is a case of premeditated murder. The reader becomes quickly aware of the fact that Montressor is not a reliable narrator, and that he has a tendency to hold grudges and exaggerate terribly, as he refers to the thousand of injuries that he has suffered at the hands of Fortunato" (Womack NP). The story relates a horrible revenge made even more horrible by the fact that the vengeance is being taken when no real offense had been given. Montressor is "one who will stop at nothing to get the revenge that he deems himself and his family worthy of, and another who's pride will ultimately be the catalyst for his death" (Benton 215).
" Irony is a manner of expression through which words or events convey a reality different from and even opposite to appearance or expectation" (Juvante NP)....

...Albernisha Bernard
Hart, Instructor
November 27, 2012
Literary Heritage
Reading Analysis Paper
The Cask of Amontillado
The very famous Edgar Allan Poe, author of this short story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” has been described in many different ways (which is quite an understatement for such the rare kind of man that he was), but one common description among the accredited seems to be isolated. Also in this tale, the narrator and main character, Montresor, is quite isolated. They both seem to be distant from rules and reality, but for the both of them, not having to endure lasting punishments justifiable by the law in which they lived is very much in their reality. Because of the many similarities among them, like this one (isolation), accredited literary critics, biographers, historians have concluded that Poe was using Montresor to convey his very own thoughts. So in this piece of truth, it is definitively concluded that Poe is represented by Montresor in “The Cask of Amontillado,” psychologically, socially, and religiously.
In the very beginning of the short story, on the very first line to be exact, Montresor mentions how he had borne the thousand of insults of Fortunato as best as he could, yet it was only an insult that “pushed him over the edge” so to say. This one insult enraged Montresor to a level where he created a plot to exact the perfect revenge on...

...surprising than we imagine, and the categories we establish to give it order and meaning are, for the most part,” momentary stays against confusion. “At any time, the equilibrium of our lives, the comfortable image of ourselves and the world around us, may be disrupted suddenly by something new, forcing us into painful reevaluation. These disruptions create pain, anxiety and even terror but also wisdom and awareness” (4). The above quote states that all people learn by the same process. Initially there is a disruption. This is followed by an emotional response. The emotional response calls for action which will rectify the disruption. Once this is done, the person gains knowledge from the experience. Montresor in the short story, “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe (rpt. in James P. Place, Literature: A reader for Freshman Composition II, 2nd ed. [Boston: Pearson, 2012] 37-43) is an example of a character who is altered by an aspect of the Human Condition.
Montresor’s disruption was when Fortunato insulted Montresor’s honor and family name. Montresor was a noble man and what most insulted him was an insult about his honor or family name. “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could.” This was what Montresor said about Fortunato, which shows us that Fortunato bothered Montresor and made fun of him many times before, but Montresor was a wise man. He always controlled himself and knew how to respond to Fortunato, until...

...The Cask of Amontillado!
Duplicity abounds in this tale of an aristocrat obsessed with retribution against his friend. "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe enchants the reader to experience the damp catacombs to witness the premeditated act. Through the excitement of the carnival, the two walk together into the caverns to substantiate a bottle of wine. The theme is when someone is unable to overlook minor infractions; it can turn into deep hatred. The irony Poe skillfully added is dominant from the introduction of the characters to the bone chilling end.
Being told in first person by Montresor, Poe thrusts the reader into a believable tale, though the narrator may not be reliable or trusted solely because of his actions. Kishel explains, “The participant approach by the narrator plunges the reader directly into the story, effectively making it more interesting because the reader feels as though they are in the story rather than reading it. "Montresor tells the story to a presumably appreciative listener, someone capable of relishing its many ironies" (Kishel).
The story begins immediately, drawing the reader into "the supreme madness" (4) of a Mardi Gras type festival in Italy. The character wears "tight-fitting party-striped dress" (4) and a "conical cap and bells" (4) on his head. They put cloaks on as they walk to the vaults. Though no dates are mentioned, there is no doubt the confession takes...

...Tristin Gimenez
Enc. 1102
Prof. Jacobs
12 April 2013
The Cask of Amontillado
Since the beginning of time, deceit has brought the fall of man. Deceit has always been a primary trait of evil. In biblical times, Cain and Abel (The first children ever born) are a perfect example of the situation in “The Cask of Amontillado”. Cain (the older brother) was jealous of his younger brother Abel, because he believed he was God’s favorite. He took Abel to a cliff and tricked him and bashed his head with a stone and pushed him off a cliff. The deceit and trickery of one man caused the death and fall of another. Deceitfulness, trickery, lies, etcetera all bring about a negative outcome to the matter.
“The Cask of Amontillado” is a short fictional story based on the deceitfulness and trickery of one man leading to the fall and death of another. The story is based upon two men. Fortunato a wine Connoisseur, who is dressed like a jester, (I will get more descriptive about that later), and falls to a fate caused by deceit and trickery in what seemed to be a carefree carnival. The second man is Montressor, not much is said about who he is, besides him being the narrator with an envious, dark heart. With Montressor being the narrator you have a more descriptive look at why he does what he does, and what his true motives were. Poe however still skillfully masks his true intensions, making it a...

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Learning About Short Stories:
The Cask of Amontillado
Understanding short stories is not always as simple as it seems. In this short story examination we will be looking at The Cask of Amontillado. When reading a story it is important to understand and be able unfold the secrets of a story. Knowing the different narrations/strategies that are used in stories is also very helpful when trying to understand a story because it will help you better convey the idea of the story to your reader. Lastly, when you summarize for your reader it helps them to un fold the last pages of the story.
When reading The Cask of Amontillado for the first time I actually found it a bit difficult to follow along with. A rule of thumb for good reading is that you always read something twice to get a better understanding. Reading it twice helps to understand as well what the writer is trying to tell you in the story. The theme of Poe’s short story became evident upon the second reading. His theme for this story is revenge. Poe’s main character wants to take revenge upon Fortunato. There is no main reason for Montresor’s revenge that we can understand except for this “The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge.” (Poe, 1846). What we can derive from this is that Fortunato insulted Montresor and therefore revenge was taken out on...

...Edgar Allen Poe was a master of the horror genre and The Cask of Amontillado was no exception. This was the story of what may have been a perfect crime. Narrating events that took place fifty years before, Montresor, a wealthy Frenchman, began the tale by explaining that Fortunato, a fellow wine connoisseur, after a series of unknown events insulted him. Although Montresor never states what this insult was, he was angry enough about it to premeditate Fortunato’s murder. Montresor’s true goal lay not only in revenge, but also in escaping punishment for the crime. The central idea of The Cask of Amontillado is about freedom: with freedom to make choices, some people choose revenge and will go through whatever means necessary to exact it.
There are two characters in The Cask of Amontillado: Montresor and Fortunato. The main character and narrator of this story was Montresor. Terms such as protagonist and antagonist did not have much ground in regards to this short story. Montresor murders Fortunato, so defining Montresor as good or even justifiable in his actions was out of the question, due to the fact he was the definition of an unreliable narrator. Fortunato was in the same boat. Although it was not specifically stated in the story, Fortunato has, in one way or another, insulted Montresor to the point where the latter deemed it necessary to kill the former. Montresor was of French...